Freiraum EP – Rawax 16

Berlin-imal brooders from techno clever-clogs Mike Dehnert, reissued throgh Rawax; he’s a seriously solid reference point for good minimal if you’ve no other clue for where to look. We first entered the ‘Freiraum’ in 2008 on cue by the Fachwerk imprint; it’s a record rooted in that early-2000s Berlin zone between Watergate and Tresor, but there’s an agreeably UK strain in there too – or at least we think it’d land without a crash on London ears. There’s an extremely pleasing saturation layer – nonlinearities in the drum machine circuit – masking an otherwise clear sound-treatment and mixdown job, from tape flutter to uncertain noise, only adding to the satisfyingly dustered pump of ‘One O Eight’ and ‘Iv’.